Digitalization Deed of the Year Award Goes to Game Cooperative Expa!
The Digital Committee of the Central Finland Chamber of Commerce annually awards the “Digitalization Deed of the Year” to a company or organization that has excelled in the field of digitalization. This year, the award was given to Expa Game Business Cooperative (in Finnish Peliosuuskunta Expa) in recognition of becoming Finland’s first—and the world’s northernmost—Unreal Authorized Training Center. This designation allows them to offer official, high-quality training in the use of this cutting-edge technology across various sectors.
Expa Game Business Cooperative has achieved significant international recognition: it has been named Finland’s first and the world’s northernmost Unreal Authorized Training Center. The recognition was granted by the U.S.-based technology company Epic Games, known for the popular game Fortnite and its development platform Unreal Engine.
Unreal Engine is a game engine—i.e., a software platform—used for creating games, movies, animations, and virtual reality content. This recognition means that the Digi & Game Center can now provide official, high-quality training in leveraging this high-end technology across industries, from gaming and architecture to education and advertising.
The recognition was made possible through cooperation with the Finnish company Fireframe Studios, founded by Mikko Kodisoja, one of the co-founders of the game company Supercell. Fireframe Studios combines gaming and film technologies to develop new, immersive storytelling formats. Their work involves real-time graphics and so-called in-camera visual effects technology, where digital landscapes and effects are visible directly in the camera during filming, not just added in post-production.
This recognition strengthens Central Finland’s position as a pioneer in creative technology and opens up new opportunities for professionals and students across various fields to explore the latest tools in virtual production and interactive content.
" The Digitalization Deed of the Year award is a recognition of the long-term work carried out around the Digi & Game Center by many contributors. It's been great to see this kind of status even recognized as a possibility, and through determined efforts, achieved. With this status, we have an excellent opportunity to raise the visibility of the entire ecosystem and accelerate development even further. I now invite everyone to help boost this forward—there are many opportunities, and this is just the beginning. I want to sincerely thank everyone who has been part of building this community, especially Tuomas Roininen, who has led the effort," says Joni Borgström, Chair of the Digital Committee."
The award was presented on June 4th. Tuomas Roininen, Vice Chair of Game Cooperative Expa, accepted the award.
"We are deeply honored by this recognition, and it's especially meaningful that it comes from such a respected group of stakeholders. The award strengthens our belief that we are on the right path and makes the value we're building more visible. However, this is just the beginning—it’s a marathon. We’re now launching a new learning platform, around which we will build collaboration with Epic Games, educational institutions, and companies. Our goal is to strengthen Central Finland’s appeal and retention, support businesses, foster entrepreneurship and job creation, and ensure that skilled professionals stay in the region. We now have the infrastructure and partnerships in place to make this happen, and our discussions with international players are already progressing promisingly," says Roininen.
The Digitalization Deed of the Year award has been given annually since 2019.
Previous recipients include Trustmary (formerly kokemuksia.fi), Digi & Game Center, Howspace Oy, JAMK University of Applied Sciences, the University of Jyväskylä, and Valmet Technologies.
The mission of the Digital Committee is to enhance the competitiveness of Central Finland by promoting the development of the ICT sector. The goal is to increase Central Finland’s expertise and attractiveness as an ICT environment in education, research, and business, both locally and internationally. The committee aims to better connect service providers and users and foster new business through digitalization. It also addresses the educational needs of schools and universities from the perspective of business and industry.
Further information:
- Joni Borgström, Chair of the Digital Committee, Central Finland Chamber of Commerce
Tel: +358 40 911 2012
Email: joni.borgstrom@pengon.fi
- Tuomas Roininen, Vice Chair of Game Cooperative Expa
Tel: +358 50 380 0991
Email: tuomas.roininen@expa.fi
Read the orginal article “Vuoden digitalisaatioteko -palkinto Peliosuuskunta Expalle” in Finnish here:
https://kskauppakamari.fi/fi-fi/article/ajankohtaista/vuoden-digitalisaatioteko-palkinto-peliosuuskunta-expalle/5258/
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